


Dark Paradise

by thatwritersdream



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Drama, F/M, Partner Betrayal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 01:26:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11498880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwritersdream/pseuds/thatwritersdream
Summary: "Ladybug!" Chat Blanc's roar of anger struck a fear into Ladybug's heart, a fear she hadn't felt before- not even when the building was collapsing. It was too animistic, wild and untamed. It wasn't Chat at all, it was a monster Hawkmoth had created and in the moment ladybug had no clue what to do because it was obvious if he had the chance, he'd kill her himself. /One-shot





	Dark Paradise

**One-shot.**

* * *

 

**Dark Paradise**

* * *

Life hadn't been the same for many residents in Paris as of late, not since the week prior to now. Everything was happening in a series of events that were too quick to comprehend in the moment but left grief in its wake. Lights shined brightly through the streets of Paris at night, and people buzzed around on the busy streets during the day. Yet it felt empty, at least it felt empty without the presence of Paris's two beloved superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir.

It had been exactly as a week ago both heroes went off the grid, MIA to most people's understanding. One minute they had been fighting side by side as usual protocol when an akuma made its appearance. Then the next they were gone and had stayed gone. Luckily there had been no more akuma attacks and criminal activities had remained minimal, nothing the local police couldn't handle, yet there was still no sightings of either hero of the famous duo patrolling as they usually did.

Maybe it had to be the fact that akuma attacks had been happening less and less, and where that was a good thing momentarily, it left people feeling apprehensive and anxious. Had Ladybug and Chat Noir caught the one behind the akuma's then they would have made such a victory public news to tell the citizens they were safe. Yet there was no such announcement, leaving different rumors to begin and spread.

Had something happened to their beloved Ladybug and Chat Noir?

Was something brewing that the two superheroes got caught up in?

Did they leave the citizens?

These questions had gotten people riled up and thinking the worse was yet to come and when it did they would be left defenseless and in the hands of danger without Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Alya Césaire was overwhelmed with the flooding messages on the Ladyblog. It had become more than she could respond to, let alone handle. The Ladyblog has been rather inactive lately, and people were demanding answers that not even Alya could provide. She didn't know where Ladybug or Chat Noir were at, or what happened. She was just in the dark about it as everyone else.

That was until she found Marinette four days later after the original disappearance of Ladybug and Chat Noir. It was the first time Alya had seen her best friend in four days, and it was the first time that she had seen her friend look so utterly heartbroken and lost.

_Alya sighed as she got Marinette's voice mail again. Sabine and Tom were worried sick about where Marinette was at. The first night Alya covered for the bluenette, but when Sabine and Tom received a call that Marinette had missed school, Alya had come clean with worry eating at her. Apparently, before the incident downtown, Marinette had told her parents she was staying the night with Alya. Alya knew something was going on but didn't know what was up._

_The next three days Alya spent trying to find Marinette and trying to console Nino. After the first two days of the downtown incident, Adrien Agreste was pronounced dead, caught in the middle of the akuma and superheroes fight._

_It was the first casualty, and it changed everything._

_When she reached the cemetery, heading over there originally to pay her respects to her blond friend who's father had a private funeral but opened it up publicly to the friends of Adrien, she was surprised to the sight before her._

_Kneeling at his headstone was Marinette, muttering things under her breath before she broke down right there in front of Alya. The brown-skinned girl wasted no time rushing towards her missing friend to sweep her into a hug._

" _It's all my fault. I'm sorry, so sorry." Marinette kept whispering, bit even realizing that she was in the arms of her best friend in the middle of her hysterics._

" _Hey, hey." Alya moved to cup Marinette's cheeks in her hands and hold her at arm's length to get a better look at Marinette's tear stained face. "What are you talking about? This isn't your fault, Adrien's death is not your fault. You have nothing to apologize for."_

_A sob caught in Marinette's throat, causing her to make a noise in the back of her throat that wasn't pretty. Her red-shot blue eyes found Alya's brown, all defenses down and looking defeated as if she'd seen the devil himself. There was fear and the utter helplessness that Alya never wanted to see in Marinette's eyes._

" _There's so much you don't know." The whisper that left Marinette's lips was barely audible for Alya to comprehend._

_Alya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as to what exactly Marinette was trying to get at. "What in heaven's name are you talking about Marinette?"_

_Marinette was having an internal battle with herself right then and there whether or not if she should tell Alya what was on her mind or not. Alya never thought that Marinette was capable of keeping secrets from her, because they told each other everything. Yet now Alya was wondering just what Marinette was keeping to herself that was clearly eating her alive._

_The tiredness was evident with the dark circles under Marinette's eyes, and the final decision was clear with the defeated slump of her body posture. "I'm sorry."_

" _Sorry for what?" Alya inquired with a gentle push to urge her on. "You keep saying sorry but I don't understand what you keep apologizing for Marinette. You're worrying me."_

" _I-." Marinette's voice cracked as a fresh new wave of tears built up in her blue eyes. "I couldn't save him in time."_

_Alya's eye widens a fraction, both out of surprise and confusion. Marinette wasn't answering anything, just adding more questions onto Alya's already long list. "I don't understand. Who couldn't you save?"_

" _Adrien." Marinette croaked, fist clenched by her side as her body shook with grief that threatened to swallow her whole once again right then and there. "I couldn't save him Alya! I should have saved him!"_

" _Hey!" Alya caught Marinette's arms that suddenly went flying, gripping her friend tightly trying to will her hysterics down. "That isn't something you should hold personally, Marinette. You didn't know."_

 _Marinette knew Alya didn't even understand what she was saying, but either way she was_ wrong _. The light in Marinette's eyes shifted into something Alya couldn't place seeing before, then a hysteric laugh left Marinette's lips as it turned into a fit of uncontrollable laughter._

" _But I did know Alya, I mean I should because I was fucking there!" Marinette threw her hands in the air, anger taking tone in her voice. Anger that Alya was more than positive was directed mostly towards herself, yet she stayed quiet but Marinette stopped talking._

" _Why were you there then?" Alya asked, standing up to be at the same level as Marinette. "No more secrets, Mari, please."_

_Marinette angrily wiped the tears from rolling down her eyes. Everything she worked for in keeping her secret cost her everything in the end. "There's no point in keeping it a secret anymore. I am Ladybug, or was."_

_Alya's eyes widen when a red little bug like creature zipped up out of Marinette's purse and into Alya's face with a sad smile. "Hello Alya, it's nice to finally meet you. I'm Tikki."_

" _Marinette-"_

" _I want you to talk the earrings, Alya." Marinette cut her off._

" _Marinette." Tikki sadly called, heartbroken at how her chosen was acting. "You are the chosen one, you know you can't just give them away."_

" _What use am I Tikki!?" Marinette suddenly whirled the brunt of her anger on Tikki. "Adrien is dead be because of me! I couldn't save my partner, and if I couldn't save him out of everyone then what use am I!? I failed already! I failed, Tikki."_

Marinette had broken down all over again after that, falling to her knees in front of Adrien's grave and apologizing profusely. There were the soft begs for him to just come back and say it was some stupid joke, that she would do anything to hear one of his puns again.

It was later after Alya had taken Marinette home, explaining to her parents she had taken Adrien's death hard and that a good parental lecture might not be the best as of yet. Alya didn't hesitate to tell her own mother she was staying with Marinette that night because her friend needed her now more than ever.

It was also that night that Alya was told the truth about everything, and as much as she wanted to be upset that Marinette had been Ladybug this whole time, she understood that she was left out for safety precautions. Everything made so much sense now, why Marinette would disappear when Ladybug appeared and vice versa. The similarities, how it never occurred to Alya before hand was a mystery.

Marinette hadn't said much that night, just took a shower, barely ate and went straight to bed. The whites of her eyes remained red, and the tears only stopped when she finally fell asleep. That was when Tikki gave Alya a sad smile and began to answer the questions Marinette couldn't stand to hear at the moment.

" _What happened?" Alya asked, already piecing together that Adrien was Chat Noir when Marinette stated she had failed her partner. It only led to the next question why Marinette was a stuttering mess in front of Adrien if she knew he was her Chat._

_Only Alya had been wrong._

" _Ladybug and Chat Noir had gone after that last akuma downtown, but it was different." Tikki's heart went out for Marinette. The little god was centuries years old, she had seen many thing in her long life span. Death was nothing new. " The akuma led them into a trap, which caught both Marinette and Adrien off guard. This wasn't something they were prepared to face head on in that moment."_

_Tikki had lost many chosens, such as Plagg had. Her dear Plagg, how her heart went out to the black cat kwami. She wanted to go find him, console him but he would be insufferable to tolerate in the state he was most likely in after losing Adrien. They may be immortal but they were not indestructible on shielded from emotions. The loss would haunt Plagg for the rest of his life, an added ghost to his memory._

_Now looking at Marinette, Tikki feared she was losing her own chosen and would be adding a ghost to her memory._

" _She stayed with him until the end," Tikki concluded, she couldn't speak of it. She tried to be strong but it was hitting her just as hard, but she had to stay positive. She had to be strong for Marinette because if she wasn't, she'd lose Marinette. Tikki couldn't have that, even if Marinette didn't believe in herself as Ladybug right now, that didn't mean that she would give up._

" _Do you think she'll be okay?" Alya asked softly, not sure how to console or what to say to Marinette anymore. It was such a fine line that Alya had to tread carefully on because Hawkmoth seemed to still be a thing to worry about. "Will she continue to be Ladybug?"_

" _She needs time still, Alya," Tikki told the teenager gently, giving Alya a small warm smile. "I know she'll come around when she's ready."_

* * *

Marinette Dupain-Cheng still believed she was dead, that she was a walking corpse. At least she wished it had been her dead instead of Adrien, instead of her Chaton. Yet she couldn't bring back the dead. It didn't matter how people tried to console her, and when she meant people she meant her parents, Alya, and Tikki.

If she grieved openly, in public, Marinette knew people would question her, especially at Collège Françoise Dupont, because she never actually talked to Adrien in a real friendly matter without being reduced into a stuttering mess. There were so many things Marinette regretted, so many things she wished she could go back in time and change.

She would reveal herself to Chat sooner than how it happened, she should have because it might have made their lives a lot easier than they had become. Or in Adrien's case, ended. Marinette took in a deep breath, pacing her room. She was more than sure she was tittering on the thin line of insanity because every time she closed her eyes she could see his face. He'd pushed her out before the building collapsed, and was right behind her when the building collapsed.

" _I don't like this, LB." Chat Noir softly stated as they walked into the storage unit of a business building. His baton was ready to strike at any given moment, just how Ladybug mirrored his position with her swinging yo-yo._

" _It's quiet." Ladybug agreed, blue eyes darting all around the open area that was littered with storage crates. "Gemini came in here, she's somewhere in here Chat, so be careful."_

_Chat Noir looked at Ladybug with a nod of confirmation, his eyes lingering a moment longer before they parted ways to cover more ground. Ladybug had a bad feeling in her stomach, a knot that was telling her that this was all a bad idea, that something was going to indeed go very wrong._

_The akuma of the day was different than the rest. In fact, akuma appearances had been occurring less and less often throughout the spread of three weeks. The one thing both Chat Noir and herself had noticed was that these akuma's were stronger than the ones that appeared daily. These akuma's, the last three in the span of three and a half weeks, had stronger vendettas, were more hostile and volatile and aggressive. They were dangerous, motives that would land a person in prison._

_Today's akuma was Gemini, a woman named Abella_ _Moreau- who was an inspiring fashion designer at one of the rival companies of Gabriel Agreste. Marinette herself knew if Abella's work, beautiful pieces. Abella had been up and coming, her company was even considering giving her her own line in the Paris Fashion week. Only a sudden change of interest and the spot went to a young man, a year or two older than Marinette herself because he was deemed more modern and creative._

_Ladybug understood that it was the anger and envy that caused Abella to be akumatized into Gemini- gaining the powers to actually change herself into any given person and be an unrelated twin. That was all Ladybug could gather so far on her enemy of the day._

" _LB!" Chat's yell cut through the air. "Some help over here please!"_

_Ladybug was quick to pivot and run back towards where Chat's voice had yelled for her and where the clanking of metal hitting metal was coming from. A curse left Ladybug's lips seeing two Chat Noir's going at each other with their batons as if they were dueling with swords. It was worse than Copy Cat because there was not a single thing out of place on either Chat's. They were identical._

" _LB!" Both Chat's yelled, looking at her with expecting green eyes._

_Ladybug let out a frustrated sound. "I would if I knew who!"_

" _I'm the real Chat Noir!" The one on the right yelled._

" _No, I am!" The one on the left counter._

 _Ladybug had every urge to rub her temples but refrained from doing so. She_ knew _her Chaton, she could spot the fake, because no matter how good the copy was on the outside- emotions were something you could not fake._

_Before Ladybug could even make the choice, Chat Noir flew right at her- the collision sending them toppling._

" _LB." Chat Noir groaned, sitting up to move off of her. "Gemini isn't just a copying machine, when she turns into someone knew she gains knowledge of their emotions and memories. She literally becomes you."_

_Ladybug really did not like the sound of that. "Meaning she knows your civilian identity?"_

" _Exactly so." Chat Noir winced, knowing this was a touchy subject. "There is a catch though. She has to touch you in order to copy you."_

_A nefarious laugh escaped the lips of the Gemini Chat Noir, causing both heroes to look at the enemy. "I could just let the cat out of the bag, but I'm feline a little playful."_

" _Out of all the things, it would be the cat puns." Ladybug muttered lowly._

" _Hey, you love the puns." Chat tried to defend himself, eyes never leaving Gemini's._

_Ladybug rolled her eyes, repressing the smile she felt coming on and stood up straight with her yo-yo swinging. The glow of the purple moth showed on Gemini's face, and Ladybug knew right then and there that Hawkmoth was speaking to her. It was a moment of distraction._

" _Lucky Charm!" Ladybug yelled, throwing her hands up in the air to gain her item, which happened to be a small mirror. What would she do with that?_

" _I understand," Gemini said, smirking as she rose her right hand still as Chat Noir's carbon copy. "Cataclysm!"_

_The blue and green eyes of Ladybug and Chat Noir widen, both scrambling different directions in order to dodge. Gemini, as Ladybug noticed at the last moment, was never aiming for them but the pillar behind them. Once her hand touched it, the pillar began to disappear._

" _Hawkmoth can have your miraculous when he pries them from your dead hands." Gemini grinned, ignoring the purple mask that came up again. "Now I have matters to attend too."_

_Ladybug went running after Gemini, who simply walked out the moment the building started to rumble. "Ladybug!" Chat Noir screamed, running fast as he saw it before she did. "Cataclysm!"_

_He had grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away from the now destroyed falling ceiling. Ladybug gasped, turning around to look at Chat. This was something they didn't anticipate happening._

" _We need to get out." Chat suddenly said, seriousness in her tone and body language. "Refrain from using your yo-yo. That pillar was one of the main pillars that run through this whole building, meaning it will collapse on top of us if we don't start moving now."_

_He didn't give her time to answer, grabbing her hand and ignoring both of their beeping miraculous. They didn't have time to worry about their identities in this moment but to worry about actually getting out alive._

_They were currently in the storage room, the second floor below the basement- which was rare for a building to have in this present day. From above, debris smoked out as parts of the ceiling began to fall with light fixtures following in pursuit. Taking the stairs and maneuvering Ladybug, Chat did his best to predict when and where something would fall from above, but he was only so perfect at it._

_There was the one piece of ceiling Chat wasn't ready for on the stairwell near the lobby area entrance, one that fell right in front of him and Ladybug with a loud boom and debris flying everywhere._

" _Chat, this building won't hold much longer!" Ladybug yelled over the ringing in her ears, eyesight beginning to blur around the edges. She felt him grip her hand tightly._

" _There's a space for you to crawl out of, I won't fit." Chat suddenly said, spinning around to face Ladybug's disbelieving face._

" _If you think I'm leaving you here then you must not know me all that well!" Ladybug suddenly shouted. "You're my partner Chat, if you stay here then I stay here as well! We started this together, and we will end this together. So you better try your damn hardest to get through that opening first!"_

_Chat Noir's lips twitched into a sad smile, but he said nothing as he complied with her orders. It took a few tries, and Ladybug using her yo-yo despite his headed warning not to do so for her to pull ceiling rumble out of the way. It took her a minute to follow in pursuit through the opening, and for them to get to the lobby,_

_Above them the building shook on its foundation, followed by a not so comforting sound of something crashing above. Ladybug was suddenly spun around by Chat. His leather-clad hands cupping her cheek, leaning in a pressing is lips against hers with a needy passion._

" _Forgive me, Marinette." Chat whispered._

" _You knew." Ladybug whispered._

" _He was sorry and asked me to do one thing for him." The Chat Noir before her shifted into the mirror image of Ladybug._

_Betrayal. It hurt._

" _He wanted you to know he loved you and he was sorry."_

" _He left me in here to die!" Ladybug yelled out, blue eyes with tears if hurt._

" _No, wanted you to live."_

_Ladybug could say nothing as Gemini grabbed a hold of her, and very nearly threw her out the front lobby window the very moment the building gave way. Ladybug could hear herself screaming as the red light took over, signaling that Tikki was exhausted as the debris covered everything._

_Around her was floating debri, making it harder to see than it already was originally did before inside. Yet when Marinette peered hard through the debris, she desperately ran back towards the collapsed building looking for Abella when it cleared somewhat._

_Only the face she had found the moment she heard sirens was not the face of Abella or Chat Noir or even herself, it was the face of Adrien._

_It was the moment she pieced everything together._

Marinette Dupain-Cheng knew that Adrien Agreste was alive, but she never wanted to face the truth of what happened that day. Not until three weeks later. Abella was considered missing, but in honest truth, she was the one buried in the grave of Adrien Agreste.

She wanted him to be dead, rather than facing the real reasons why he was walking around. It would be easier if he was dead. She grieved him, confused as to why it had happened. She grieved Abella, not being able to save her- that was how Alya had come to find her at the cemetery at Adrien's grave. It was true she hadn't been able to save Adrien, but in fact, she had failed Abella. In the end, it was Abella herself who saved Marinette.

Why? Marinette would never know. The whole situation was confusing. It had never been Gemini to leave without once looking back, it had been Adrien. Adrien, her Chaton, her _partner_ had left her behind to die. Then Abella said he wanted her to live.

Abella never deserved to die, but why would she willingly do so? Why take the time to save Marinette when she could save herself? Alya didn't know the whole truth, and Marinette told Tikki not to tell, and it wasn't because she wanted to save Adrien's reputation, it was because she wanted to save how their friends would remember him by.

The tears and grief weren't a part of an act, because, to Marinette, Adrien Agreste really was dead. The only thing she was sorry for was the fact that she couldn't save Abella. That would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Marinette's attention was drawn to her phone when it let out a sharp shrill of a ring tone she had set to default. A soft sigh left her lips when she saw it was only Alya. Answering the phone, Marinette handed Tikki a fresh cookie her mother just brought up. "Hey, Alya, what's up?"

" _Hey girl, you might want to turn on the news._ " Alya tone was tense, making Marinette a bit wary as she opened up her laptop and signed onto the local news channel.

Marinette's eyes widen at the laptop screen in front of her, the grip on her her cell phone loosening and allowing the small cellular device to slip and thud on the floor. It momentarily distracted her from the fact that Chat was now running around Paris, that and the fact that he was no longer Chat Noir, but Chat _Blanc,_ according to Nadja Chamack. He was akumatized.

Things had finally been starting to get better around here, but Marinette knew it wouldn't last and this was just proof of that. Across from her, Tikki was staring at her with a questioning gaze, asking with her eyes what exactly was it she was going to do next.

"That's not Adrien or my partner," Marinette whispered lowly into the phone, crystalline eyes becoming glued to the screen and watching how the white blur scaled across rooftops with the police following right behind. "He's _dead_."

" _He doesn't look dead, in fact, he looks very much alive and not himself Mari_." Alya voice gently plucked at her heartstrings. " _He needs you, he needs Ladybug. This whole city does._ "

Marinette's breath hitched, blood running cold. She couldn't, and Chat Blanc was the perfect example of how she failed. She couldn't understand how he was there, how he even became Chat Blanc. How could it make sense when she was watching the carbon copy of Adrien, of Chat Noir dressed in white, smirking so diabolically and malicious as he pounced on people- hurting them and causing pain?

" _You didn't fail him, Marinette, but if you don't go out there and stop him then you are failing this city. You're Ladybug! You got this Marinette, because if you don't then who will stop him?"_ Alya's voice continued to urge her on, vibrating with encouragement.

"I love you, Alya," Marinette whispered, ending the call and looking over at Tikki- who stared at her with a soft smile. "I don't think I can go out there and face him. He was my partner. Even if he left me in that building." She trailed off with a sigh and ran her hand over her face. " _I just can't_."

Tikki hovered in front of her chosen's face, taking in the despair and sadness in her blue eyes. Tikki wished she could tell Marinette that this was the first time it's happened that a Chat Noir got akumatized, but that would be a lie. Same goes for Ladybug never being akumatized. Where it was highly unlikely, it was not impossible, but it was extremely rare.

Chat Noir's and Ladybug's come and go, it was the cycle that Plagg and Tikki had been cursed to endure for centuries. Tikki could recall the very few amounts of times, three to be exact, where a Ladybug became akumatized. It happened for different reasons, the same went for the Chat Noir's. Circumstances were all different, and Tikki was more than sure that Adrien Agreste finally broke.

Sometimes chosens just couldn't handle the pressure and eventually gave into that lingering darkness. Every Ladybug and Chat Noir had that lingering darkness, for it was apart of human nature. Adrien though, as every other Chat Noir, was chosen because they dreamed of being free from the isolation they felt. Adrien, Tikki knew, had it hard being an only child in a big home without a mother and a father who worked and was barely there, being forced to be something he didn't want to be.

And he cracked.

"You can do it, Marinette!" Tikki cheered brightly, perking up and buzzing around. "You have to become Ladybug again because he needs you now more than ever. Paris does too."

Marinette said nothing, keeping her eyes trained on the screen. She had a bad feeling about this as well but kept quiet about it.

" _If Chat Noir has gone rogue, where is Ladybug and who can say she hasn't abandoned us? Surely she would have been here by now."_

She didn't have a choice anymore because this wasn't about how she felt or what she wanted. No, Marinette had obligations, responsibilities and a promise to keep to the people of Paris. She couldn't just sit back and quit because she was confused why he did it.

"Tikki, spots on."

* * *

Along the rooftops of Paris, Ladybug was quick with her yo-yo, wrapping it around lamp posts and swinging her weight from one platform to the next. There were police cars blocking the streets of Paris, people being told to stay indoors until this situation was dealt with. All this for Chat Blanc, who had already sent people to the hospital but no casualties.

For the past twenty minutes, Ladybug had seen or heard nothing about Chat Blanc's whereabouts, so as of now she was running on a wild goose chase just trying to look for him in places he hadn't been yet. He had gone dead silent the moment she was spotted outside by the public. In a way, the people looked at her as if she were some shining ray of hope. Yet the way Chat Blanc had gone silent only reminded her of how a predator was when stalking their prey.

He was watching her undoubtedly. If there was one place he'd go, one place he knew she'd go to look for him- it would be their spot on top of the Eiffel Tower. The late nights they'd spend up there before and after patrols, sometimes sitting there in silence as they overwatched the city and it's lights. It was peaceful.

It took a total of five minutes for Ladybug to swing her yo-yo up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, pulling her weight with no problem. Landing on her feet with a soft thud, she barely caught the flicker of Chat Blanc's ear perking up.

"Took you long enough, Ladybug." He didn't even turn around to look at her, but the tone of his voice was harsh, cold.

"Adrien." Ladybug called softly, taking a tentative slow step towards him with hyper awareness to stay on guard. "Why are you doing this? What happened to you?"

A _tch_ left Chat Blanc's lips, and faster before Ladybug could register it in her mind, he moved to grab her around the neck and slammed her into the side of the Eiffel Tower. The cold metal bit at her skin from under the red suit, but it was Chat Blanc's emotionless green eyes that made her heart stop in that moment.

"I don't need to explain myself to a bug like _you_." Chat Blanc hissed through his clenched teeth, nearly pulling his upper lip back into a snarl. "But if you must know, I'm doing this so I can get your miraculous for Hawkmoth. Now be a good little bug and hand them over."

Ladybug gave him quizzical look, because if she honestly thought she would just _hand_ over Tikki and her earrings, then he had another thing coming. "Hawkmoth is the enemy, Chat! Please, just tell me what's going on."

Chat Blanc growled low in his throat, bringing up one hand to seemingly cup her cheek, but instead applied pressure from his claw. Ladybug winced at the sharp pain, well aware that he had just cut her cheek, yet stood her ground- much to his amusement it seemed.

"Hawkmoth helped me see the world for what it is." Chat's eyes glared at her, stabbing daggers into her eyes. "Everyone loved you, it was always _you_. Without me you're nothing. In fact, why don't I just get rid of you all together?"

The moment Chat Blanc brought his hand up, claws tilted to strike with deadly accuracy, was the same moment Ladybug brought up her knee and hit him where the sun don't shine. Chat doubled over, groaning at the explosion of pain in his groin. With an easy push, Ladybug was running towards the edge of the Eiffel Tower, quick to throw her yo-yo out and wrap it around a street lamp a good distance away.

" _ **Ladybug**_ _!_ " Chat Blanc's roar of anger struck a fear into Ladybug's heart, a fear she hadn't felt before- not even when the building was collapsing. It was too animistic, wild and untamed. It wasn't Chat at all, it was a monster Hawkmoth had created and in the moment ladybug had no clue what to do because it was obvious if he had the chance, he'd kill her himself.

Risking a glance over her shoulder, she caught the blur of white that was quickly scaling the rooftops and jumping obstacles in order to get to her. There was no doubt in her mind that he'd eventually use Cataclysm, and in this state, he'd care nothing about the people who could and would get hurt. She had to lead him away from the city.

Only she suddenly tumbled forward when she tripped, Chat Blanc had thrown his baton like a dart with perfect accuracy between her legs. A hiss of pain left Ladybug's lips, but she knew she had to get up, and that was exactly what she did when Chat Blanc leapt onto the same rooftop as her.

He was quick, she'd give him that. There wasn't much time to even consider swinging her yo-yo across the way to get more distance between them, he'd already started at her. Dodge after dodge, flip after flip. It was a dance that Ladybug would rather not take part in, with his relentless attacks of trying to knock her off balance.

"Snap out of it Adrien!" She hissed, leaping out of the way of Chat Blanc's baton. "This isn't _you_!"

"What would you know about me, _Mari_?" Chat Blanc sneered her civilian nickname, green eyes hard with anger. "Even when you saw me every single day, you never uttered a word or held a full conversation! How ironic it was you as Ladybug beside poor little pathetic Chat Noir."

His words stung more than Marinette wanted to admit. Stung was too light of a word, the feeling of his words was sharper than a knife cutting into her skin like butter. How he got like this was beyond Marinette's knowledge, but she knew this akuma was more different than any other. This was her partner, she _knew_ him. Yet this version, this dark version, was someone unpredictable. Someone dangerous.

The smirk that hung on his lips was uncharacteristically over confident, not the goofy boyish grin he would get when they defeated an enemy. Hell, he _was_ the enemy. Fate was definitely being cruel to Marinette as of now, making her really wonder what she had done to gain this bad luck.

"I loved you!" Ladybug yelled, angrily swinging her yo-yo to catch Chat Blanc's baton.

There was no response from Chat Blanc as he gripped the yo-yo string that was stronger than a normal yo-yo, giving a hard yank and successfully knocking Ladybug off her feet _towards_ him. Not even a few seconds later had Chat Blanc tossed Ladybug's yo-yo out of her reach and held her chin tightly in between his index finger and thumb.

"You loved me?" Chat Blanc purred darkly, green eyes narrowing into slits. "Funny, it sounds like you meant it in the past, Princess."

"Let go of me." Ladybug spat, struggling and ready to pull the knee move again- but he already predicted it, pushing her against the wall of the roof they were on now, the new station, and pressing his hips against her's to keep her in place.

"Ah, ah, ah." Chat wagged his finger in a _no_ motion, a smirk gracing his angelic features. "You're in no position to be demanding things of me."

Ladybug glowered, spitting saliva at his face, which landed on his right cheek. "I said let go of me. You're not Adrien or my Chaton."

"You finally see that, or at least accepted it." Chat Blanc snarled with rage, gripping her tighter as the purple moth appeared on his face. "Yes, Hawkmoth."

Without another word, Chat Blanc tossed Ladybug to the floor roughly, watching how her body crumpled into a fetal position. Shakingly, she pushed herself up on her forearms, and in that moment Chat Blanc to the chance to kick her in the side.

"Omph!" The air left Ladybug's lungs, a groan escaped her lips, and her voice cracked. "Kick a girl while she's down."

"Pathetic." Chat Blanc muttered, picking up his baton swiftly and hitting her side he just kicker with the hard metal. "How I ever saw you as someone admirable, brave, strong- you disgust me, _Ladybug_." He spat her name as if it left a vile taste in his mouth.

"You're nothing. To me, to Alya, Nino, your parents." Chat Blanc continued, hitting her with his baton at random times, each spot harder than the last- sure enough, to leave bruises. "This city will hate you when they learn who you are under the mask. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a wannabe fashion designer, the baker's daughter."

His words hurt, they hurt more than the physical hits she was receiving. Yet she _knew_ this was not him, her Adrien and Chaton were still in there somewhere. They were in there and fighting for control. They had to be.

Pulling herself to her knees, Ladybug glared up at Chat Blanc. "I will not fight my friend. I know you're still in there Adrien, the real you."

Chat Blanc gave her a feral smile, using the baton to lift her chin and peer down at her sluggish form. "You think I was forced to become this when I actually chose it. I chose to become Chat Blanc because I hated how happy everyone was. I wanted them all to feel my suffering."

"Abella-"

"A simple means to an end." Chat Blanc shrugged off as if her death meant nothing. "A greater sacrifice."

"Hawkmoth is making you do this," Ladybug muttered, standing up slowly with a sharp pain in her ankle. "Fight it, _please_. You have to _fight_."

Chat Blanc found it amusing how hard she was trying, trying to save a person who didn't even exist anymore. It was cute, in a way. Yet this wasn't how he wanted her anymore. He had a new goal, and what Chat wanted, Chat got.

Lifting up his baton, he put it on his shoulders and stared hard at Ladybug. "Hawkmoth is making me do nothing I don't want too. I enjoy this, the pain and suffering of this ungrateful city. Just like I'll enjoy your pain and suffering, Marinette."

Ladybug was quicker than him this time, already seeing the baton before her could strike her in the head. Dodging it by mere inches, Ladybug went to whip her yo-yo before her eyes widen. It wasn't there but was other near the edge of the rooftop. Without her yo-yo, she couldn't do anything that could help.

"Something wrong, bug eyes?" Chat Blanc snickered, swinging his baton at her stomach like one would at a piñata. As she doubled over, Chat was quick to grab her by the throat again. "You're really not putting up much of a fight here, disappointing really."

"I won't fight my friend." Ladybug wheezed, feeling light-headed. She couldn't fight him, her heart wouldn't let her. No matter how he'd wronged her, she refused to believe the subjected himself to this willingly.

"Weak." Chat Blanc muttered, gripping her throat as he brought her back to eye contact. "You're _nothing_ but a pest. You were right that first day we met, you aren't cut out for this. You aren't a superhero, because how could you be when you lack everything that makes a hero? You are weak, not brave, not strong and definitely not smart enough."

_I'm not cut out for this, I always knew that._

"You failed this city, The people, me." Chat Blanc pressed on, watching the light slowly go out in those blue eyes he once loved. "To think I thought I loved you, ha, how funny! Chloe would make a better love interest and everyone hates her! Who would ever love you, Marinette?"

_No one would ever love me, not the way I love you._

"Alya, she's your friend out of pity. You wouldn't believe half the things she's said about you." Chat Blanc released Ladybug, only for her to once again crumple to the ground holding her neck and coughing to gain air back into her lungs. "Your parents, they must be disappointed with you, you aren't the perfect student and certainly not the perfect daughter!"

"You're wrong. They loved me, all of them." Marinette whispered, eyes glued to the floor.

"Even Tikki?" Chat Blanc grinned at the visible flinch he was responded with. "Out of all the people, she could have chosen she chose _wrong_ by choosing _you_."

_Ladybug should have never been me, I already know this._

Kneeling down, Chat Blanc watched how her blue eyes glassed over. The positivity she always had was fading rapidly, and it was a beautiful sight to him.

"Are you going to kill me?" Ladybug asked softly. "I failed you, and everyone else. I failed when I tried so hard. This Ladybug, I thought I could save everyone but how can I save everyone when I can't even save you? I have failed Tikki."

 _I'm sorry_.

Chat Blanc watched as the tears fell from Ladybug's blue eyes, the physical pain nothing to emotional and mental pain she was most likely facing. In the corner of his eye, Chat Blanc caught sight of the black little butterfly coming their way, landing on Marinette's earring without her noticing.

He watched that familiar purple moth mask appear in front of her face, how she seemed so reluctant. Yet Chat Blanc knew his father would persuade her, lure her into the trap and snap in close. Delight flooded through his very being as two words fell from her lips, _yes Hawkmoth._

Chat Blanc smirked down at the sight below him, how the single black butterfly turned into multiple and swallowed the form of Marinette Dupain-Cheng whole. The curiosity of the former Noir may have killed the cat originally, but the satisfaction of Blanc brought the cat back.

"Welcome, Lady Misfortune." Chat Blanc greeted, now circling his previously red-clad partner. Her head was bowed down, most likely listening to the voice of Hawkmoth echo through her ears as the wind blew her blue hair gently.

Slowly, Lady Misfortune brought her head up to reveal cold purple eyes under long lashes that met Chat Blanc's cool green. A sinful smile curled at her lips, head tilting to the side as she stood up on her feet without a wince. For a moment she watched Chat Blanc with an unwavering stare, then gave a slight nod as if she approved of him.

"Ready to wreck some havoc in the city, Kitty?" Lady Misfortune didn't wait for a reply, already turning to walk away with a persuasive sway of her hips and swinging her yo-yo.


End file.
